


Repairs

by Davechicken



Series: The Pilot and his Knight [44]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 11:13:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7799527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Davechicken/pseuds/Davechicken
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Kylo is impatient, and an old friend returns.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Repairs

There will always be something familiar and homey about the smell of oil and engine afterburn and chemical cleaners. Just one whiff and Kylo is transported back to softer times. 

Most of those times had been around the _Falcon_ (who was held together more through sheer effort of will than mechanics, or the laws of physics), but occasionally he’d hang around Uncle Luke’s X-Wing. Or one of the squadron’s birds, parked and slumbering, waiting for the next charge into the blackness of beyond.

Back then, when he’d just been nervous about the day he’d be tall enough to reach the controls and learn to fly, it had all seemed as magical as the Force itself. Now, now he knows in detail every part of the ships. On both sides of the fence.

Admittedly, he still can’t fly worth shit, and he’s banned from even going _near_ the autopilot button on the _Falcon_ , but he could fix anything he put his mind to. He can listen to the whirring, or feel for the electrical currents, and know precisely what needs tuning. 

Poe has been missing for most of the afternoon, and Kylo is at a loose end. That’s how he finds himself walking quietly (NOT sneaking up, just… soft foot-falls) in the direction of _Black One_.

He passes Bryan, who smiles and runs as fast as his legs can carry him the minute he thinks he’s out of range. Kylo still wishes Bryan would get over the Incident, but. You can’t force a guy to heal.

When he gets close to Poe’s beloved ship, his pilot’s orange-clad ass greets him first. Oh, and the droid. BB-8 chirrups a Binary hello, rocking and purring in greeting, and Poe follows suit (depriving Kylo of said ass, which is always a crime). 

“Hey, babe. Am I late for dinner?”  


Poe. Has. Smears.

Smears on his face, like warpaint. Smudges under his cheeks, and an oil-slick gleam where one hand passed through his hair. And his braces are down and he’s in that white vest that’s barely white, stained with man-sweat and machine-blood. 

And Kylo promptly forgets what an S-Foil is, why it’s needed, and - in fact - the difference between sublights and hyperspeed. And Basic. That goes out the window, too.

It’s a wonder he still manages to breathe. “N-no. Just… came to… uh. Help.”

“It’s okay. Bryan figured it out, but he wanted to get home, so I said I’d implement the changes and service the parts he identified,” Poe says, gliding over the name like it didn’t almost cause a new war.  


“Oh. Uh.” Kylo bites his lip, and blinks.   


BB-8 makes a suggestion, and nudges his boot.

“Good idea, buddy!” Poe enthuses. “Babe, if you could pass me the tools I need? And also maybe hold some of the wires out of the way?”  


Kylo wonders if he can still see Poe’s ass if he… “Yes. Of course. Anything.”

“Great! I just need to sort out the landing mechanism, and we’re good to go.”  


Poe leans up to kiss him, and Kylo wonders if grease stains his cheek, too. His pilot vanishes back inside, and Kylo doesn’t even hear the first request for a wrench.

It’s only when the astromech bumps into him again that he remembers: oh yeah. Helping. The sooner he gets this done, the better.

**Author's Note:**

> Did you remember Bryan from Hey, Jealousy?
> 
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/6318829


End file.
